Argentina take on Nigeria Wednesday in Porto Alegre in their final Group F match. The two sides come into the game sitting atop their group, however, only Argentina are guarenteed a spot in the knockout rounds before kick-off. Third place squad Iran still have a mathematical chance of qualifying, if they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina and Argentina defeats Nigeria. The importance of this match for the Albiceleste is to show the world that they brought with them their attacking prowess, which has received a lot of attention but has yet to reveal itself.
Argentina will likely dominate the posession in this game, as they did against Iran. Utilizing Javier Mascherano in the central holding midfielders role, expect the FC Barcelona player to be a focal distributor and attack generator much as he was in the 1-0 victory over Iran. The two Argentinian fullbacks, Marcos Rojo and Pablo Zabaleta, are extremely attack minded defenders, so it won't be a surprise to see them join the attack and deliver dangerous crosses to be met by the foreceful attacking triage of Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, and Lionel Messi. Messi, who saved Argentina from an embarrasing draw against the Iranians with a wonderful stoppage time goal, will most likely continue dropping into the deep midfield role he has been playing in with Barcelona and the national team. He has enjoyed picking the ball up near the halfway line and trying to take on entire defenses himself, with mixed results. However, his brilliance cannot be ignored and any Nigerian defensive slip up can cost the 'Super Eagles' in massive ways.
Nigeria will undoubtedly need to defend stoutly if they wish to get anything out of this match. Sitting with four points after a dissapointing 0-0 draw with Iran and a shaky 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephen Keshi's men will need to remain defensively organized and disciplined if they are to avoid a goal-shower against the very capable Argentines. Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who has so far proven to be Nigeria's most important player, will need to be in tip top form and ready to handle any and all attacking threats from the Argentine boots. Expect John Obi Mikel to be a very busy holding midfielder. He will need to stagnate Argentina's pacy attacks and slow down Messi in his slaloming runs down the center of the pitch.
I expect both sides to come out attacking and look for all three points. Argentina are quite obviously the better side, but as Iran proved, they are not well suited to break down an organized and disciplined defense. With many individual stars such as Messi, Aguero, and di Maria, the Albiceleste have shown that they are perhaps not the team pundits and fans were expecting when their roster was announced. Regardless of that, they need to prove a point after two mediocre performances, and against this fragile Nigeria side is the best time to do it, so I expect the Argentines to handily defeat Nigeria.
My Prediction: 3-0 Argentina
Betting Odds (Courtesy of Bovada.lv)
Nigeria: +1 (-120) // Pick (+750)
Argentina: -1 (even) // Pick (-210)
Draw: +300
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